Oral Health

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Oral Health eligibility

You're able to recieve free public oral health services, provided you meet the following criteria:

Eligibility for Adults

For adults to be eligible for free public oral health services they must: Be Queensland residents; and,

Be eligible for Medicare*; and,

Be receiving benefits from one of the following concession cards:

Pensioner Concession Card issued by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs;

Pensioner Concession Card issued by Centrelink;

Health Care Card;

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card; or,

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Health Card

Queensland Seniors Card.

For eligible adults, eligibility is extended to dependants named on their concession card.

Adults that reside in states or territories other than Queensland who are eligible for Medicare and hold a valid concession card are eligible if their closest public oral health facility is in Queensland.

All other adults from interstate who are eligible for Medicare and hold a valid concession card are eligible for emergency care only.

*Eligibility for Medicare includes holders of green or blue Medicare cards but excludes yellow Medicare cards which are issued to visitors from countries with reciprocal health card agreements

Eligibility for Children

For children to be eligible for free public oral health services they must:

Be Queensland residents or attend a Queensland school; and,

Be eligible for Medicare*; and,

Meet at least one of the following criteria:

be aged four years or older and have not completed Year 10; or,

be eligible for the Medicare Child Dental Benefits Schedule; or,

hold, or be listed as a dependent on, a valid Centrelink concession card

Children that reside in states or territories other than Queensland but attend a Queensland school and meet the other criteria listed above, are eligible for free public oral health services.

* Eligibility for Medicare includes holders of green or blue Medicare cards but excludes yellow Medicare cards which are issued to visitors from countries with reciprocal health card agreements.

Outpatients referred by a public hospital to a HHS oral health service must meet the eligibility criteria.

Eligibility criteria may be waived to expedite treatment where patients have been referred from a public hospital for the treatment of cancer, cardiac surgery or another life threatening medical condition requiring urgent dental treatment prior to commencing medical care. This may apply in situations where there may be difficulty accessing timely private dental treatment. Such care would be considered essential to the recovery and rehabilitation of the patient.

Offenders in both public and privately run prisons in Queensland are eligible. Emergency care and denture repairs are available to all offenders subject to clinical urgency. General care and dentures services may be available for longer term offenders subject to service capacity and clinical assessment by a public dentist.

Papua New Guinea nationals presenting at oral health services in Torres and Cape HHS or Cairns and Hinterland HHS are eligible for emergency care only. Papua New Guinea nationals who are inpatients of a Queensland public hospital are eligible for emergency care prior to their discharge if it is deemed necessary to their overall health care.

Refugees who meet the eligibility criteria are entitled to a priority general course of care within the first 12 months of arrival in Queensland. Following the initial course of care, eligible refugees can access public oral health services the same as other eligible patients.

Asylum seekers are entitled to a priority general course of care within the first 12 months of arrival in Australia. As proof of eligibility, asylum seekers must be assessed as eligible by an authorised support agency.